Querulous Grebes at Raab Lake
May 5, 1993, 4:30am. Raab Lake, Turtle Mountains, North Dakota. © Lang Elliott.
With some difficulty, I make my way to the remote Raab Lake in the Turtle Mountains, along the border between North Dakota and Canada. The lake is nearly a mile long. All through the night, I hear the reverberant calls of red-necked grebes, but far in the distance, at the opposite end of the lake. As dawn approaches, the grebes finally come my way and put on a show I will never forget.
Mated pairs call together in a duetting celebration, their trembling whinnies and brays blending with one another and echoing across the lake. Ruffed grouse drum loudly from nearby woods and a great horned owl hoots from the treetops. Though still quite dark, a song sparrow sings loudly time and again, as if heralding the coming light.
People familiar with red-necked grebes might think their calls are dissonant and hard on the ears. But the querulous grebes of Raab Lake impressed me as being the opposite, their haunting, hypnotic melodies transporting me into a mystical realm of wonder and awe.
